At present, meters are individually manually inspected to determine if they have been tampered with. If a determination is made that a meter has been tampered with, the meter is separately stored and an investigation is made of the user.
In addition, test fixtures, for checking operability of meters, must be individually specifically and manually set for the testing parameters of each type of meter. These parameters appear on the face of the meters. Defective meters are removed from use and properly operating meters are returned to use. If desired, meters which are inoperative because of calibration defects and the like, can be re-calibrated or otherwise refurbished for use. In all instances, a last reading of the meter is required for billing purposes (either direct usage or with compensation for the defect or calibration deviation if possible).
Large scale automation of meter inspection, meter reading, both on and off-site, and meter handling has been precluded, to date, as a result of the multitude of different meters from many manufacturers and the numerous types of meters from the same manufacturer.